This policy brief argues that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) present an important opportunity for India to showcase its climate leadership through the communication of its past, present and future ambitions in the climate arena. As leadership in climate change has not been forthcoming from some of the largest emitters. The brief argues that countries such as India, likely to be acutely impacted by climate change would need to develop a strategy on two formats: pressing major emitters to increase their mitigation targets; and ramping up its own ambition to reduce the vulnerability of its own population to climate risks.